Ethical Policies

The Journal of Ahmedabad Dental College & Hospital (JADCH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal ensures that all aspects of the publication process are conducted in a transparent, ethical, and responsible manner. JADCH follows internationally accepted ethical guidelines and best practices in scholarly publishing and is guided by the principles laid down by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to JADCH must ensure that their work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors should have made significant contributions to the research and approve the final version of the manuscript. Any form of plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, or inappropriate image manipulation is strictly prohibited.

Research involving human participants must comply with the ethical standards of the institutional ethics committee and the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must include a statement confirming ethical approval and informed consent where applicable. Studies involving animals must follow recognized guidelines for animal welfare and must be approved by an appropriate ethics committee.

Peer Review Policy

JADCH follows a double-blind peer review process to ensure impartiality and objectivity. All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening followed by review by independent experts in the relevant field. Reviewers are expected to maintain confidentiality, declare any potential conflicts of interest, and provide unbiased, constructive, and timely feedback. Editorial decisions are based on scientific merit, originality, relevance, and ethical compliance.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, unbiased, and timely review process. Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by the authors’ institutional affiliations, nationality, gender, or political beliefs. Editors maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and take appropriate action in cases of suspected ethical misconduct, following COPE guidelines.

Conflict of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of the research. Any potential conflicts must be clearly stated in the manuscript. If no conflict exists, authors must explicitly declare the absence of conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism Policy

All submissions to JADCH are screened for plagiarism using appropriate plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts with significant overlap, duplicate publication, or unethical reuse of content will be rejected. In cases of suspected misconduct after publication, the journal reserves the right to issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern as necessary.

Data Integrity and Transparency

Authors are expected to maintain accurate records of data and provide access to original data upon reasonable request. Any errors identified after publication should be promptly communicated to the editorial office for correction.

Misconduct and Retractions

JADCH takes allegations of publication misconduct seriously. Suspected cases of plagiarism, authorship disputes, data manipulation, or ethical violations will be investigated in accordance with COPE procedures. Where necessary, appropriate actions such as rejection, retraction, or notification to the authors’ institutions may be taken.